US firms evince interest to invest in UP

Lucknow: In a significant boost to job opportunities in Uttar Pradesh, over two dozen US companies today evinced keen interest to invest in the state.

A 50-member delegation, representing 26 major US firms, had a detailed interaction with state cabinet minister Siddharth Nath Singh here to explore investment opportunities in UP.

Welcoming the delegation, Singh said, "We will give you red carpet welcome in the true spirit of 'Atithi Devo Bhava' (guest is God)".

"I welcome delegates to fulfil our 'Sankalp Patra' (manifesto) by creating employment through your investment in UP," he said, referring to BJP's pre-poll document in which the party had pledged to create massive job opportunities for youth.

Seeking to showcase the state as an attractive destination for investment, Singh said, "Yogi Adityanath government's narrative is different from the previous governments. We will give you a red carpet welcome in the true spirit of Atithi Devo Bhava".

Singh said, "We will work hard to ensure that those (sitting) in this room don't go to other states to invest, but invest in UP. This will happen by providing a better Eco System".

With the tagline "US in UP" on the lines of 'Vibrant Gujarat', the state government invited US firms to invest in the state.

The delegation, headed by Boeing, visited the state under the aegis of US-India Strategic Partnership Forum (USISPF), which is committed to create the most powerful strategic partnership between the US and India and promote bilateral trade.

The USISPF said in a statement, "Our mission reaches far beyond this. It is about business and government coming together in new ways to create meaningful opportunities that have the power to change the lives of citizens".

It said that investment incentives offered by the state under the new chief minister "translates into a business- friendly climate for industry".

Singh told PTI that taking a cue from 'Vibrant Gujarat', the idea of 'US in UP' has been mooted to display the state's investment avenues in chemicals, petrochemicals, cement, gems, pharmaceuticals, textiles and engineering sectors.

He said a small delegation had visited this state two months back and realising the "tremendous investment potential" in the state, a bigger delegation was here today.

Singh said the foundation for the high-profile tour was laid when Prime Minister Narendra Modi visited the United States in June and invited CEOs of top US companies to invest in India, saying GST was a game changer that made the country a business-friendly destination.

Officials from the US Embassy and US Trade and Development Agency (USTDA) are also a part of the delegation, which included representatives from Facebook, Adobe, Coca Cola, Mastercard, Mosanto, Uber, Honeywell, P&G, Oracle and GE Health, besides Pratt & Whitney, Merck, Medtronic, Azure Power and Cargill.

Uttar Pradesh has recently come up with an Industrial Investment & Employment Promotion Policy to create a framework to stabilise and make existing industries more competitive and to attract and realise new international and national investments in the industrial sector.

"Uttar Pradesh has tremendous scope in terms of development and investment. The scope of employment is ample in sectors like health, industrial development, education, infrastructure, information technology and tourism," Singh said, adding that the state government will extend all possible help and co-operation.

The state health minister singh also said, "Prime Minister Narendra Modi has expressed his desire that investment should get a priority in UP. If investment is increased, there will be an increase in the employment opportunities, which will improve the life of the people and also boost the GDP of the state".

Focusing on tourism, Singh said, "There is immense scope of development of tourism in UP, and investors can invest in significant quantity in this sector. Every region of the state is known as a tourist destination, but owing to non-holistic development of the tourist spots, they are lying ignored. The government using its own limited resources is focusing on their development".

He also urged the investors to invest in tourism sector along with infrastructure. The state minister said, "The effort of the government is to ensure that the last man of the society is not deprived of health facilities. Work is being done to increase the speed of ambulances, so that the needy people can get benefit in short span of time." PTI ABN NAV SMI

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